VANCOUVER -- Police are investigating after human remains were found inside a recycling bin near a popular Vancouver beach.
Authorities said the Canadian Coast Guard retrieved the bin on Sunday morning after multiple people called to report seeing it in the waters off Kits Point around 11 a.m.
Coroners determined the bins contained human remains.
"I don't have information on age, gender, ethnicity. This is something that's still being looked at by our investigators," Vancouver Police Const. Tania Visintin told reporters Monday. "We don't have any identity of the victim."
She said the evidence gathered so far points to homicide, but she would not give details on the condition of the remains or how the person may have died.
The Vancouver Police Department's Major Crimes Section is leading the investigation.
Vancouver police are now asking people to check their properties for missing recycling bins, as they are unsure where the bin that contained the remains came from.
"We are asking property managers for multi-dwelling buildings and local residents to check their recycling and garbage rooms to see if any large, blue, wheeled recycling containers are missing," Visintin said in a news release.
Police are not saying whether the bin had any markings.
"If they notice their bin is missing, that's just clue number one," Visintin said during a news conference. "Call investigators. That's pretty much what we're asking right now, as we haven't been able to narrow anything down as of yet, as it's a pretty new investigation."
Authorities are also looking to speak with anyone else who saw the bin floating in the water.
Anyone with information is being asked to call Vancouver police at 604-717-2500.
